11, 10: Arrival

Monday, March 17.  1400 yard swim, 75 min trainer ride, 1.2 mile run.  After Sunday's long run, I somehow ended up doing a triple workout day.  Even though I wasn't quite recovered from Sunday.  1400 yard swim at an easy pace, followed by 75 minutes of bike intervals on the trainer.  It's the first time I used the trainer I picked up, and I'm realizing how much I don't get to push my effort as hard I'd like to (at least for training purposes) on local roads.  I ended the day with a quick run.  Coming back up the hill, I knew I was done for a bit.

Tuesday, March 18.  Rest.  I was tired-sore all over, and I couldn't have done anything active if I wanted too.  I haven't felt that physically beat in a couple years, and it's a great feeling.  I got a massage instead.

Wednesday March 19.  7.1 mile run and 3000 yard swim.  I ran out to the marina over lunch, making a second round at newly reintroduced speed intervals.  At the end of the day, I did the Swim Speed 16-2 workout, adding in more distance to get to 3000.  Both felt good.  I was surprised I could run the intervals after the beat down, but it worked.  I kept them at 8x a tenth of a mile, I'll probably start to increase the time a bit next time around.

Thursday March 20.  5.9 mile run.  Huckleberry/Sibley.  I thought I was keeping an easy pace, and I definitely was on flat and downhill portions, but I somehow managed to set a number of Strava PRs on the large climb.  I finished almost in the dark without a light.

Saturday March 22.  7.4 mile run and 15.5 mile ride, reverse brick.  I added another rest day for on Friday, even though I intended to run.  It just wasn't going to be a strong effort, and Saturday could be.  Seemed like a good day for a strong brick workout, since I had some stress to burn out too.  I reversed it to get the run finished early; the valleys I pass through on my local trails get dark a lot earlier than the hills or roads.  I kept a strong, tempoish pace for the middle four miles or so, watching heart rate to keep it mostly in the 160s to 170s.  With lots of climbing, in the second/third miles.  Finishing up, I jumped right on the bike for a 15 mile ride.  Legs were tired by the is point, which was the point of the workout, but I pushed through at whatever effort was sustainable.

Sunday March 23.  10.1 mile run.  Up and down the hills, this was a good pre-fatigued long run.  I'm starting to work in more pre-fatigued workouts to get my legs used to keeping going, either running or on the bike, after they've already been beat down a bit.  This is in part to get better use of some endurance-focused workouts, and because I expect it to be useful for both the upcoming 70.3 tri and the further-out-there 50 mile run.  In some ways, a brick is like back-to-back long runs, which I'm debating whether to include later in the summer or fall.

Monday March 24.  22 miles on the trainer.  Beginning of a bike-focussed week.  Unless, of course, it gets interrupted.  I hooked up the handy-dandy magnetomeric sensor doohicky that tells you how far you ride on a trainer.  Downside of a trainer: indoors.  Upside of a trainer: flexibility to get workouts in at odd hours (very important now), better ability to include targeted speed workouts, and time to catch up on reading.  I rode this one with two minute intervals.

Tuesday March 25.  7.2 mile run and 15 mile trainer ride.  An odd day, workout wise.  I have three trainer rides in a row sketched in, so I treated this like an endurance day, and I added two short runs at a very easy pace, before and after work.  Both runs were in Huckleberry, and I made a point to keep a well-into-very-long-race pace to avoid having these runs beat me up at all.  It was kind of amusing, since I walked almost all the uphills, which I used to do, i.e. most of last year, but rarely do now.  I followed this up with an hour of moderate heart-rate targeted riding, to start to ease into tempo-paced riding.  I'm realizing that's a weak point, since I do most of my road riding in the hills, and that prevents longer harder efforts.

Wednesday March 26.  18.7 mile trainer ride.  The end of three hard trainer rides in a row.  Legs were sufficiently tired, with all new sore muscles.  I picked up a yoga book to help with clearing out some of the less obvious stiffnesses and added a little in at the end.

Thursday March 27.  1500 yard swim.  Very easy pace.  Active recovery after the three days of trainer time.

Friday March 28.  8.2 mile run to the Marina and back, again with 8x tenth of a miles all out intervals in miles 2-4.  I added a couple miles, intended to be at an easy pace, but I ended up walking the last two miles after suddenly feeling unwell.

Saturday March 29.  Arrival.  Obviously, no weekend workouts, but I think this made up for it.

13, 12: Back to more rigorous training.

Monday March 3, 2014.  5.3 mile run.  Wrapping up a long weekend trip, we drove down highway 1. I used the chance to stop at Stinson Beach and make a 5 mile run up and down the Dipsea and Steep Ravine trails.  The waterfalls had far more water than last time I was on this trail, in January.  It was overcast and lightly raining--perfect running weather.

Wednesday March 5, 2014.  3000 yard swim and 5.2 mile run.  Tuesday was a bleh day.  So I went to bed crazy early (9:30) and woke up late (8:30).  After a busy day, I jumped in for a long, fast paced swim.  I did the swim speed 14-1 workout, which centers on 10 fast-paced 50's.  I added some distance to hit 3000, which might be my longest swim this year.  This was followed by more shopping for the imminent arrival (if you read this some day, you're taking a lot of time, and you're not even here yet!).  Getting home, I went out for a night run just as a storm came though.  I ran down the hill, through the neighborhood, and back up.  I kept the pace down, since Monday's run still seems to be working it's way out.  Oh yeah, and over the last week I decided to register for a 50 mile race in December and the Malibu triathlon again.

Thursday March 6, 2014.  1.2 mile run.  I've been unable to get out for morning workouts lately; there's been a lot happening.  Biking is what's suffered the most.  Until I get that back on track, which might take some time and might involve a trainer to get it in at odd hours, I'm going to squeeze in short recovery runs when time allows on days that aren't running focused.  I saw two deer.

Saturday March 8, 2014.  9.9 mile run.  This was a tired one, especially after the first climb.  I started in Sibley, ran the Huckleberry loop, and came back for the Round Top loop and an out-and-back on the bay area ridge trail.  I'm keeping these long runs closer to home for the next few weeks.  Lots of mud after all the rain we've been getting.

Sunday March 9, 2014.  40.5 mile ride and 2.5 mile run.  Another brick in the wall, ok dumb joke.  The next long ride of this slowly progressing ramp up to 55 miles.  Wanting to stay close to home, I rode back and forth on Skyline and Grizzly Peak, covering the same section three times.  Of all the repeat routes I could choose, it definitely stays interesting, and pretty.  The middle time through seemed the strongest and fastest.  It's also the first ride I've found time for since my bike repair.  And something else is breaking, the pedal attachment area starting clicking and eventually became a loud clacking.  I followed this with a run on the Huckleberry loop.  While the weather was great for the ride, the run, being in a consistently moist valley/hillside area, was muggy.

Monday March 10, 2014.  1800 yard swim and 1.3 mile run.  I decided to loosely start following one of the training plans I've been mostly following since December again.  In part to cover the major weekly goals in addition to day by day specifics; I'm better at the latter.  This week prescribes a lot of swimming, much of it fast.  For this swim, I did 1000 yards of mixed strokes and kicking, my somewhat usual Monday recovery swim.  I followed this with a 2x25, 2x50, 2x100, 200, 2x100, 2x50, 2x25 ladder at my fastest paces for each distance.  I've also been sneaking in some strength training since last week, mostly using resistance bands.

The relatively fun swim was followed by quite the downer of a run.  I set a not-very-strict goal to run at least a mile a night on days when I don't have any good reason not to for a while, since there's no excuse not to, and it'll help build hill endurance.  I still like to rest the day before a fast run or a long run.  Anyway, I ran down the street, and there were about 25 pairs of green eyes glowing back.  All deer.   A group was close to the paved path I run on at night, so I slowed to walk through.  A car came speeding down the hill.  One of the deer between the path and the road startled, and ran into the road.  The car hit the deer, and the deer rolled over a few times, landing at the side of the road.  The car took off.  I was shocked and saddened.  I watched the deer for about five minutes from a distance, it wasn't moving.  I finished the downhill part of my run, and checked on the deer a few minutes later on my way back up the hill.  This was one of the saddest things I've ever seen.  The struck deer now had it's head up and was looking around, but it was unable to move its body.  Another deer stood at the edge of the road, across the street, looking at it, and occasionally lifting its legs, as if wanting to do something.  I don't know much about deer social behavior, but I got the sense it was the injured deer's mother.  I made the call to run home and look up who to call who might be able to help, even if it meant putting the deer down.  I called the Oakland police, who presumably went to handle it.  The next morning I checked the spot, and the deer was dead.

This was shocking and humbling.  If I hadn't been on that run, the deer would have probably run away from the road, and to safety.  Deer get struck many times a week on my road, but I've never seen it happen.

Tuesday March 11, 2014.  3000 yard swim.  Swim speed 14-2, which centers on 10x50 overreaching.  I added some breast and fly to up the distance to 3000.  For compulsive reasons.  And I dropped the bike off to get the pedal assembly fixed and to get everything with any wear taken care of.

Wednesday March 12.  6.2 mile run.  I had a long enough lunch break to get out for a run again.  I ran out to the Emeryville Marina and back.  I kept the pace mostly on the slower side, since I ran 8 tenth-of-a-mile all out intervals in the middle three miles.  If the gps data is correct, I might have hit my fastest momentary running speed (faster than 6 min/mile pace).  I haven't been running many intervals like this lately, since I've been mostly focused on building endurance since last fall.  I certainly felt it later, not wanting to do much in the evening or next morning, and sleeping a good nine hours.  It's nice to be able to work on speed again, and I hope to work more speed workouts back in, since I'm planning to level off my regular racing distance at 50k until next winter.

Thursday March 13.  3000 yard swim.  Swim speed 15-2.  This workout focused on the finish.  Some of the drills have to look really ridiculous to others.  :-)  I added 450, mixing all strokes, to get up to 3000.  I picked up my bike in the evening too.

Friday March 14.  6.6 mile run and 15.7 mile ride.  Two hard workouts in one day.  Tempoish run over lunch, followed by an impromptu GrizzlyPeak/Skyline ride during sunset after work.  I was feeling antsy, and I also wanted to take the bike out for a spin after getting it fixed up.

Saturday March 15.  11.1 mile ride.  I was getting work done, so I took the opportunity to ride out to the end of the Bay Bridge bike path.  It stops just short of treasure island, but it's a fun, although noisy, ride.  My legs were tired after the two hard workouts on Friday, so I cut the ride shorter than intended.

Sunday March 16.  19.5 mile run.  I started at Huckleberry, ran over to Sibley, and in and around most of the trails in the park.  I'm playing stay-close-to-home-on-long-runs, since I'm on call for a new arrival, and this has had the side effect of motivating me to explore the odds and ends of some of the trails nearby.  I ran back through Huckleberry and made a loop through Redwood, on the East Ridge and Stream trails.  Somewhere around mile 15, my feet got sore, so I slowed way down.  I ended up finishing after dark, getting the first use of my headlamp on trails.

I'm posting this weeks later; I've gotten behind on editing.